November 2005 In Rail Transport Article Index for
November 2005
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November 2005 In Rail Transport





NOVEMBER EVENTS



November 1 - November 5

; November 1
  • - Government officials in China announce plans to privatise the nation's rail network into separate corporations that could be listed on international stock markets. The strategy is to raise money for improvements and expansions to the network, which would increase the amount of track by about 27,000  Km (16,800  Mile s). The plan could lead to partial or complete foreign ownership of some railway lines, but some investors have already raised concerns over the network's regulatory system, especially in regard to the newly independent railways' abilities to raise prices to cover costs. (BBC News)

  • - About 1,000 protesters in Milan block the tracks of the railway line connecting Turin , Italy , to Lyon , France . The demonstration, which was timed to coincide with geological surveys along the route by Lyon Turin Ferroviaire (LTF), was intended to protest against planned High-speed Rail service along the line; protesters' concerns centered around the environmental impact of the new service, while LTF is the proposed operator of the service. Fifteen trains were cancelled and six others delayed due to the protest. After some clashes between protesters and police, the road to Mount Rocciamelone , where the surveys are taking place, is completely closed to all but the survey crew. (Planet Ark) (AGI)

  • ; November 2

  • - Viet Nam Railways announces that it has awarded a VND 1 trillion ( $ 63 million) contract to ZTE of China to modernize the railway's telecommunications and Signal systems. The project, which has been in planning since 2001, includes upgrading the systems on three lines out of Hanoi as well as several Junction s in and around Hanoi. (VietNam News)

  • ; November 4



November 6 - November 12

; November 7
  • - Russia n officials announce that projects begun under Joseph Stalin 's rule to connect the Siberia n Arctic by rail to Moscow may be revived and completed. Construction on the " Railway Of Bones ", as it has come to be known, was begun with Prison Labor teams in April 1947, but was abandoned in 1953 after Stalin's death. At least ten people died each day working on the railway's construction. The railway was designed as a means of supplying military posts near the Bering Strait , now the government hopes the line will carry natural resources, such as Nickel from Norilsk (which currently accounts for 2% of Russia's Gross Domestic Product ). (Mail & Guardian)

  • ; November 8

  • - Deutsche Bahn (DB), the state railway of Germany , is in talks that could lead to the railway acquiring BAX Global (founded in 1972 as Burlington Northern Air Freight), which saw revenues in 2004 of $ 2.44 billion. The Financial Times reports that the purchase price could be as high as $118.2 million. Neither DB nor BAX would comment to reporters on the proposed sale. (Richmond Times Dispatch)

  • ; November 9

  • - Amtrak 's board of directors asks David L. Gunn to step down as president. David Hughes is named as acting president and CEO until a permanent replacement can be appointed. David Laney , Amtrak's chairman, stated "Amtrak's future now requires a different type of leader who will aggressively tackle the company's financial, management and operational challenges. The need to bring fundamental change to Amtrak is greater and more urgent than ever before." The board envisions fundamental changes for the railroad including increasing competition and shared financial responsibilities with States . (Amtrak)

  • ; November 11



November 13 - November 19

; November 19


November 20 - November 26

; November 22

  • - Railroad workers across France return to work from a Strike Action . The Labour Union s involved in the strike report that they are pleased with concessions agreed to during negotiations on Tuesday and French President Jacques Chirac offered his personal guarantee that SNCF would not be privatised. The strike, the sixth by French rail workers in 2005, suspended one third of all TGV trains across the country. (IHT)

  • ; November 26

  • - Ferromex purchases the 900  Mile (1,448  Km ) Ferrosur , formerly known as Ferrocarril del Sureste, for US$ 307 million, making Ferromex the largest railroad in Mexico at 4,900 miles (7,886 km). The two railroads had attempted to merge in 2002 but were denied for antitrust reasons.3



November 27 - November 30

; November 30


REFERENCES

  • AFX News Limited (reprinted by Forbes.com 2005 .

  • Agencia Giornalistica Italia ( 2005 .

  • Amtrak ( 2005 .

  • BBC News ( 2005 .

  • Fuller, Thomas; International Herald Tribune ( 2005 .

  • Ginocchio, Mark; The Advocate ( 2005 .

  • Jalonick, Mary Clare; Associated Press (reprinted at Newsday.com 2005 .

  • Newark Star-Register, reprinted by Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ( 2005 .

  • Planet Ark (reprinted from Reuters 2005 .

  • Richmond Times Dispatch ( 2005 .

  • Sydney Morning Herald ( 2005 .

  • United Press International ( 2005 .

  • United States Federal Railroad Administration ( 2005 .

  • VietNam News ( 2005 .

  • Walsh, Nick Paton; Mail & Guardian ( 2005 .